Improved eoof tor railroad cars



C. DUMMELDINGER.

Car Roof.

' Pat ented June 18, 18 67.

Witnesses:

v lnventom AHLPHOTO-LITHO. 80. NM (OSBORNE'S PRUCE SS.)

gotten gram gaunt @ffinzf CHARLES DUMMELDINGER, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO.

Letters Patent No. 65,888, dated June 18, 1867.

IMPROVED ROOF FOR RAILROAD CARS.

TO ALL WHOM 11 MAY CONCERN:

Be it known that I, CHARLES DUMMEnDINGER, of Cleveland, in the county ofCuyahoga, and State of Ohio,

have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Railroad Car Roofs;and I do hereby declare that the 4 following is a full and completedescription of the same, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawings, making apart of this specification, in which- Figure lis a topview of the roof.

Figure 2 is a side view.

Figure 3 is a longitudinal section.

Like letters of reference refer to like parts in the different views.

This invention consists in covering the roofs of railroad cars withhroa'd sheets of iron or tin, and so constrncting the joints of thecovering that they will not strain or break apart in consequence of thetwisting and severe wrenching of the roof while the cars are running.The usual plan, when iron or tin is used. for rooting, is to nail thesheets on the roof and making the joints by lapping, as is done on theroofs of ordinary buildings. These joints, in consequence of the greattwisting and straining referred to, break away, and not unfrequently thematerial itself cracks, thereby causing the roof to leak. In order toobviate this difiiculty, the sheets are put on as follows: i

In fig. S, A represents a section of a car roof, on which is laid acovering of two sheets of tin or iron, 13 B, the ends of which, insteadof being made to lap on each other for the joint, are made to curl backover the sheet, forming a, loop or tube, 0, fig. 3, along the entireedge of the sheet, which in this case may be supposed to reach from thecentre of the roof to the edge of the car, making one-half the width ofthe roof. It will be seen that the ends of the two sections of tin curveaway from each other, and are made to touch only in a short verticalline, D, before curving; also, it will be observed that the ends ofthesheets do not touch either the vertical line D or the. top of the car,but simply approachingeach other, leaving a short space between. Thesetubularjoints are stayed at the centre with a band, E, passing aroundeach tube and then nailed to the roof of the car under the sheets. Theyare still further stayed and secured to each other by a. sheath, F,surrounding, locking and covering them, as shown in fig. 1, which figureshows the roof, or a longitudinal section of one-half of the roof,including one joint only, the number of joints beingaceording to thesize of the sheets employed for the roofing, and which are made to lapover the edges or caves of the roof, and there nailed or otherwiseproperly secured. No nails being driven in any part of the sheeting, theends of the sheath and joint, when completed in their attachments, arecovered with cap, G, as a. protection and finish.

It will be obvious that roofing put'on' with joints of this charactercannot break, as the several sheets are not rigidly connected to eachother by nailing or soldering; hence the joints will readily yield toany twisting or straining of the cars without displacement, breakage, orinjury. In consequence of the end of the sheets not touching thevertical line of contact G, nor the top of the car, there can be noleakage by capillary action. Should there be water enough at any timelodge about the joint to enclose it, and being covered by the sheath, itcannot find its way in, though dashed against the joint in anydirection, it being perfectly water-tight under all ordinarycircumstances; hence by the use of this form of joint iron or tin may beused for roofing cars, instead of paper, canvas, or any combustiblematerial ordinarily used, and therefore will secure greater safetyagainst both fire and rain.

\Vhat I claim as my improvement, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,is-

The stay-bands E, tubular ends 0, as arranged, in combination with thesheath F and ear-roof A, for the purpose and in the manner set forth.

CHARLES DUMMELDINGER.

Witnesses:

W. H. BURRIDGE, E. E. WAITE.

